DOG BEACH PHOTOSHOOT!

Okay, I'm a couple days behind with details on Dog Beach but that's just the way things seem to be running lately!!

As I posted on Facebook a few days ago, Squirt and I are going to be in San Diego at Ocean Beach/Dog Beach on Sept. 4, 5, and 6th.  I'm going to be staying at the Ocean Villa Inn.  It's not the Ritz, but it IS right on the beach and most rooms are dog-friendly.  I would have stayed over a weekend to make it easier for people that work Monday through Friday, but the difference in room rates between Friday, Saturday and Sunday versus Monday through Thursday was almost $100.00/night!

I will be able to photograph only a limited number of dogs because I'm going to make this a vacation too!  If anyone is interested, please contact me as soon as possible!  Regular session fees apply and Gift Certificates will be valid for these sessions as well!

CREATURE OF THE NIGHT!!

I'm taking a break from our regular posts on cats, dogs and birds so I can show you this awesome creature I had a chance to photograph a couple weeks ago!

This cute little guy is a Pallid Bat.  Yes...  I really DO think he's cute!  I LOVE bats!!  These guys range from Canada to Central Mexico and are between 3-1/2 to 5-1/2 inches in length, so they're pretty good size!  They have big eyes and giant ears!

Pallid Bats feed on insects and can consume up to half of their WEIGHT in insects every night!  Even though they catch most of their prey on the ground they'll ususally take it back to their roost to eat it!  They're my heros... they actually help keep the scorpion population down.  Obviously not enough though, because we still have them skitter though the house MUCH more frequently than I would like!  Well...  in a perfect world, that would be NEVER!!

I'm hiding... You can't see me!

Oh...  You're still there??

Time for my close-up!

Check out my spikey little teeth!!

I'm outta here!  I LOVE the crepe-y, transparent skin on their wings... 

EMMA, TOOTSIE & TATERS | Phoenix Pet Photographer

A couple weeks ago, after being rained out once, I finally had a chance to do a session with Emma and her two beautiful Great Danes, Tootsie and Taters!  It was a blast!  And, her mom Kathleen, who owns A-1 Animal Talent came along as well, so I actually had someone ELSE who was positioning the dogs for me and getting them to look at the camera!  Geez...a girl could get used to that!  I didn't have to get up and down off the ground 750 times during the session like I ususally do!

Emma was up for ANYTHING! She has tons of energy (even though she really isn't a 'morning person') and an unmatched sense of humor! She threatened to show up in her jammies before she had to change into the outfit she brought! She really wasn't kidding about that part though!

Look at her rock those heels!  She can actually RUN in those things!!

She's dwarfed by these two gentle giants...

Tootsie is her sweet older girl.

Does anyone remember the reruns of Marlo Thomas in "That Girl"?  Well, Emma reminded me of her when she took to the fountain at the end of the shoot!  I TOLD you she was up for anything!

Thanks, Emma...  for being such a good sport about anything I wanted to try and for keeping me constantly amused with your hysterical e-mails!  And a special thanks to Kathleen for all your help!  I'm forever spoiled now!  There are lots more images waiting for you when you get back!

Now...  go off and 'save a species'!! 

INSTAGRAM LOVE!

I know it's been more than 'forever' since I've posted anything here, so I decided I either have to start posting regularly or just delete this poor forgotton blog!  I LOVE reading other people's blogs way more than I like writing my own!  But I also really like their purpose!

It gives people a chance to find out a little bit about me personally that they wouldn't otherwise know unless they hung out with me alot!  Well, no one is hanging out with me a LOT anymore because I've been so buried in work that I haven't had time to 'hang out' at ALL!

But I want to quickly tell you a little about my latest obsession!  I sort of have 'serial obsessions'!!  I think I might be a tad ADD!!  Well, maybe more than just a 'tad'!

But... my latest love is INSTAGRAM!  I'm having a blast with the camera on my iPhone.  When I stop to think that the 8 MP camera in the phone is of higher quality than my first DSLR, it amazes me that I can carry such great technology around in such a small package!  Even though I did just get a brand-shiny new full-frame DSLR (more on that in another post!), I'm having a great time playing with the iPhone's camera! 

Maybe what makes it so much fun is that I've decided to shoot ONLY for ME with the iPhone.  No expectations of what I think a client might want...  Not just adorable little animal faces...  I pretty much shoot EVERYTHING!!  I use all the high saturation that I don't get to do on a regular basis!  I can play with lots of grunge and HDR looks!

So, I've embedded the Instagram widget on the right-hand side of this blog so you can see some of the madness for yourselves! 

THE BEAUTY OF POLLINATION

This was a YouTube video passed along to me by friend and fellow nature lover, Megan Mosby.  I'm sure this must have been filmed with a high-speed camera in order to slow down the speed of the video this much. 

It's beautiful footage...   What do you think?

SHADOW AND NORA | Scottsdale Pet Photography

The first part of this shoot was in in the studio back in 2011.  We finally got the chance to do the 'on-location' part of their shoot!  Shadow and Nora are both Agility Dogs and were so much fun to photograph!  It was one giant 'play session'!

Here are a few images from the second half of their session...

Check out the great expression on Shadow's face!



 Paul and Cher...thank you for letting me do photos of your pups! 

HAPPY 'BELATED' NEW YEAR! | Phoenix Pet Photographer

Better late than never, I guess!  While most people are making resolutions to blog more, promote more, use Facebook more, I seem to have gone in the opposite direction for the beginning of this year!  I've purposely tried to spend less time in front of the computer; spend less time on Facebook; and to go out and PLAY more!  I think I was a little burned out by the end of the year!

I look back on 2011 and realize that I spent the majority of my time glued to the computer "working".  Some of it was fun, don't get me wrong!  I love editing the photos of all those sweet faces that I photographed, but I don't think I really used my time wisely!  I can get completely lost on the internet jumping from website to website, blog to blog of different photographers and realize later three hours have passed!  I love all the online tutorials, but I never really took any time for myself.

So, that's my New Year's resolution!  Use the time I spend working more effectively!  Focus on one task at a time and stop multi-tasking!  I really am not more efficient while trying to do 5 things at once! So, that being said, I've just finished updating my website and want to post a few photos here from a shoot I did in late December.

Meet Baxter... Baxter is an American Curl Manx who was adopted in 2008.  This cat is so "dog-like" in some of his behaviors!  First of all, he LOVES people and just hangs around with them.  No running to hide by this cat!  And he learns tricks, just like a dog would!  While we were shooting, Jan and Joe taught him to jump from bench to bench so I could get a shot of him leaping through the air!  He was such a blast to shoot!  Thanks, Jan and Joe, for letting me photograph your awesome kitty!